


Just Stop and Breathe

by Sky_King



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, 鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime)
Genre: Acceptance, BAMF Sawada Tsunayoshi, Complete, Demon AU, Demon Slayer AU, Demon!Guardians, Found Family, Fusion, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kamado Tanjiro cries, Mild Angst, Sawada Tsunayoshi Is Not Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi is Not Dame, Sawada Tsunayoshi is So Done, Sawada Tsunayoshi is everyone's older brother, Sawada Tsunayoshi loves to give head pats, Tanjirou gets comforted, Will not expand, demon!hibari, demon!tsuna, self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 13:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20658212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sky_King/pseuds/Sky_King
Summary: Tanjiro chances upon a curious group, one late night. There is kindness in the golden eyes of the stranger, and there are questions burning in his mind, so he decides to spend some time with this amalgam of a group.Tsunayoshi was having a normal night as always, when he chances upon a young demon slayer with a kindness that rivaled his own. And he wonders, how could someone so young and pure, suffer so much?





	Just Stop and Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> This was just supposed to be a fun little snippet to get it out of my system.  
It is now 8k long, and getting published so fuck me I guess?
> 
> Enjoy!

Tanjiro had been on his way to a rest stop, walking with the moon at his back, after a job well done, when he was ambushed on the road.

Before he had the chance to move out of the way of the crazed demon, someone else surged from the shadows– demon-fast, like any follower of the Total Concentration breathing– and metal glinted in the air, as a blade appeared from thin air and decapitated Tanjiro’s opponent in a second.

Not even the resulting spray of blood reached him, as the demon slayer –because who else could be this fast, and own a blade capable of killing demons – pushed the headless body out of the way, even as the head screamed and dissolved.

Tanjiro couldn’t help but gasp, a cold sweat breaking out on his face. It would have hurt so bad to get hit by this demon, he couldn’t help but think, as he stared at the long claws, the powerful muscles of the slain person. The acrid smell of death filled his nostrils.

He looked back at the sword-wielding stranger, wondering if he would be able to recognize him. And what he saw surprised him.

By this point, Tanjiro had grown used to seeing other slayers disregard the demons as nothing but monsters, but…

This brown-haired stranger looked heartbroken, despite standing over the writhing body, sword unsheathed. And when the last particles of what had once been a pitiful and very powerful person scattered to the wind, the stranger bowed his head and prayed.

Tanjiro could feel tears prickling at the corner of his eyes as he noticed.

In a world where showing mercy and sorrow for a demon was frowned upon…

There was another slayer who didn’t seem to hate these pitiful beings.

So Tanjiro bowed his head as well, and prayed while trying to keep the tears at bay.

* * *

When he finished, he wiped his eyes and strode forward, bent on discovering who this mysterious stranger was, maybe even make a friend. Maybe, they-

_Demon scent._

Tanjiro flinched, unsheathing his sword as he shouted to the stranger, “I can smell another demon, be careful!”

Just as he was pinpointing the origin of the smell, leaves rustled behind the golden-eyed stranger –who still looked rather relaxed, despite the warning– and another figure emerged from the bushes.

It was a lanky teenager, with ink-black hair, and eyes that were just a shade off the color of gold. He sported a rather terrifying expression, but upon noticing the stranger demon slayer, his face relaxed into a goofy grin. He swung long arms behind his head and laughed.

“Yo, Tsuna! I lost you there for a second!”

The demon slayer smiled at him, something indulgent and tired in the arch of his eyebrow, in the wrinkles around his mouth.

“Takeshi. Just a little demon I had to take care of.”

Meanwhile Tanjiro had finally unhinged his mouth open, lifting a shaky hand to point at the innocent-looking black-haired teen. “You’re- you’re a-!”

Before the words could be uttered, there was a hand on his mouth, golden-eyes glaring down at him, and the _overwhelming scent of something like a demon _clogging up his senses and making every single hair of his stand on point.

When had he…?

“Do not say it.” The golden-eyed stranger –a demon? Was he a demon?– mumbled, even as he stepped away and laughed at his black-haired friend. He said something funny that Tanjiro didn’t hear, too busy trying to figure out what was happening.

Because the scent of the smiling teen was unmistakably that of a demon. But the demon slayer had been the one to stop Tanjiro from revealing this fact. Or at least that’s what he thought. But then again, the demon slayer also smelled odd, kind of like a demon, but not quite and-

Both demon slayers stared at each other, and just as the stranger was getting defensive, Tanjiro launched himself at him, grasping his hands and staring at him starry-eyed.

“You’re really a demon slayer?! This is so amazing! You’re a demon, right?! How come you are wielding a slaying blade? It doesn’t hurt you?! Hey can I ask you more questions!?”

The golden-eyed man stared at him, out of his depth and no longer looking cool and collected.

In the sudden silence, he whispered, “Huh?”

* * *

“So she’s Nezuko,” Tsunayoshi, the adult demon slayer, was saying, once again the image of coolness. They had all taken a break after burning an incense for the souls of the departed, and were now sitting in a patch of grass, so they could talk some more. Tanjiro had finally let Nezuko’s box down when he heard she had woken up and was smiling like a proud big brother as she slowly withdrew, still in her tiny, compact form.

“Yeah!” Tanjiro grinned, feeling overjoyed at not having to worry about someone trying to kill Nezuko or vice versa for once. “She’s my sweet, cute, beautiful younger sister!”

Tsuna smiled at the curious girl as she shuffled forward, at parts caution, and at parts shyness. “Nice to meet you, Nezuko-chan.”

Nezuko looked at him, humming in agreement, before she scurried away to keep inspecting Tsunayoshi’s party.

Which consisted of a wild amalgam of demon and humans alike. 

Tanjiro did his best not to stare, doing his best to shove his natural instinct of reigning Nezuko in, before anyone hurt themselves. But he trusted the other demons to behave, almost as much as he trusted Nezuko to be able to defend herself should anything happen.

Tsuna’s serene attitude and demeanor also worked wonders to soothe the ever- writhing anxiety curling in his stomach.

“Are you two travelling alone?” Tsuna asked, drawing his eyes away from Takeshi, Hayato and Mukuro, trusting his two demons to protect Hayato should any accidents occur.

“Ah, well, yeah. Normally we would be with Zenitsu and Inosuke–ah, they are other demon slayers, and our friends–, but we had to split for a mission. Oh but we have each other, so it’s not like we’re totally alone.” Tanjiro said, smiling wider. Even so, it was impossible to hide the bags under his eyes, or the scent of exhaustion wafting over to the demon.

Tsuna’s lips downturned. “I’m sorry.” He said, out of the blue. The young teen opposite of him just cocked his head in confusion. “It must have been a terrible thing, to have your sister become a demon. Taking care of her, on your own.”

“Oh, but it’s not like it’s all been awful!” Tanjiro was quick to reassure him, and still there was a hitch in his voice, his eyes dancing away from him as if unsure or surprised. Or simply, doing his best to keep the pain deep down within. “We have other demon slayers on our side! And Nezuko is so strong now. Oh, but I’m still trying to figure out a way to turn her back, ah-! I mean no offense, I just want her to be able to live a normal life and-“

“It’s okay.” Tsuna reassured him, with another smile and a pat on the head. “Being a demon is no easy work, and the mere fact that you are willing to look for a cure for her sake, is way more than anyone could have asked out of you.”

Tanjiro was silent.

(Tsunayoshi was just so sad for the young orphans he had chanced upon, sad because he was just one demon, and there were thousands more, breaking families apart.)

“So what, uh…. I mean, what do you do? Or how did you become a demon slayer? The exam grounds are covered in wisteria flowers, there’s no way you could have gotten in there.” Tanjiro muttered, finally brushing that hand away and doing his best to appear professional and mature. He missed the warmth and the hand as soon as it disappeared, but he just cleared his throat and looked at him expectantly.

He had meant it as a topic change, and an ice-breaker, but he hadn’t been expected the guilt to be carved on Tsuna’s face so evidently.

“I’m not… technically a demon slayer.” He said, looking down at his uniform, and at the sword he never let go of, on his left hand. His gloved hand tightened over it before presenting it to Tanjiro. “This sword does not belong to me. I… I took it, from a dead slayer.”

Tanjiro blinked several times, trying to control his expression, knowing there was a story there, a motive. “Why?”

Tsuna sighed. “Because back when I was your age, my family was attacked. I hit my head, and passed out, and maybe that saved my life because I was the only survivor.” He paused, surprised at the sudden tears in the other’s kind eyes. Tsuna’s eyes crinkled. “It was a long time ago; I have long since made my peace with what happened.”

“Still, I’m so sorry, it must have been awful.”

Tsuna opened his mouth, then thought about it. It wasn’t like he could hide it from him. “Yeah, it was.” He cleared his throat. “But after I buried their bodies, and grieved, I began to learn more about what had happened to me. How I couldn’t go out in the day, how I found no satisfaction in regular food. I thought I had been cursed. I thought… I thought death would have been better.”

Tanjiro hitched a breath, and Tsuna hurried to add. “I was alone with this, Tanjiro-kun. And when left alone, I am prone to despair. I’m sure Nezuko-chan has never had these thoughts herself. Not with you by her side.”

There was a small lull, as they both turn to look at their respective companions. Nezuko was hanging off Takeshi’s arm, like a wayward wind chime, as the other laughed and swung his arm. Takeshi looked a little too thin to pull this off–had he been a human, Tanjiro thought, casting yet another glance at Tsunayoshi– but there was nothing but childish joy in his expression.

He looked like any regular person, with black hair, amber eyes and an easy-going-smile. Even Tamayo and Yushiro had an air around them that warded other people off. Takeshi lacked that, as well as any sort of malice, and Tanjiro would had probably never noticed hadn’t his demon scent been so evident. A scent of demon and sunshine. A strange mix. Just like the person it belonged to.

Talking about defensive auras, Hayato the human, had one of his own. He had a scowl that seemed permanently etched on his face, as he stared at the playful duo. He had his arms crossed around his chest tightly, as if he disapproved of their carefree nature, but somehow felt either curious or responsible since he didn’t stray more than a few feet away from them. And despite acting stand-offish, the smell that reached him was one bitter with resentment, but so overwhelmingly kind, that made him fit right in with Tsuna and Takeshi.

On his other side, was another demon, towering, and almost twice as tall as everyone else, with a red eye and three blue eyes staring at all of them with the vague disinterest of an important man. His skin was purple and riffed with sharp pointy spikes, the most obvious demonic appearance of them all. It was like he wanted to look as menacing as possible, despite carrying himself with no aggression. His scent was sweet and sour, like a mischievous spirit, mixed with a flowery smell, of someone shy.

They were all odd scents, belonging to odd people, but still the one that took the crown had to be Tsunayoshi, with his demon-tinged, demon-hunter smell.

Belatedly, Tanjiro realized he had closed his eyes and had just been silently sniffing his companion instead of listening to his tale.

He jerked back, as fast as he could, red to the face and stammering apologies to the laughing man. Tsuna didn’t seem to take offense to any of this, his laughter light-hearted.

“Seems like you have quite an interesting gift there, don’t you?” He said, cocking his head at him. “I’m curious. Exactly how much can you pick up? I do recall you looking at mine, and calling them demons.”

“That-that was-!”

“That was?” Tsuna repeated, when he did not continue.

“I… I have a strong sense of smell. I’ve always been able to identify demons just by the scent they project. But that’s not all, everyone has a different scent, one of kindness, or innocence. Of joy.” He looked at the curious and amused expression on the other and chuckled softly. “Uh, sorry. People are always surprised when I tell them this.”

“It is quite a gift.” Tsuna said, shaking his head. “No need to apologize, it’s… interesting. I just can’t quite believe how easily you figured us out. Even…”

He turned to look at Takeshi again, his scent tainted with guilt and remorse.

“Why did you not want me to say that Takeshi-san was a demon?”

Tsuna smiled at him, tired and sad. “For that, I would have to tell you my story. If you don’t mind.”

Tanjiro jumped in place, gesticulating wildly. “Oh, I don’t mind at all, I’m so sorry for getting distracted earlier.”

“It is a rather distracting sight, is it not? Mine don’t get much of a chance to interact with others either.” Tsuna mumbled, sighing yet again. “Nighttime is not a safe place for humans, and few demons are quite as amicable as mine.”

Tanjiro nodded in silence, letting the other man order his thoughts.

“So, before understanding what had happened to me, I vowed revenge. I vowed I would kill whoever had destroyed my home. Whoever had killed my mother. Whoever had bested my father.” He looked down at his blade, unsheathing it just enough with his thumb for Tanjiro to appreciate the color, Black. An ill omen. “This was my father’s blade. I had never been allowed to hold it, so when it began burning my hands I always assumed it was just because I was not its owner.” He smiled, as if sharing a secret. “As you can see I was not the smartest person… or demon. Still am not, probably.”

“That’s why you wear gloves then?” Tanjiro asked, suddenly realizing that he had yet to see Tsunayoshi’s hands. “Why do you keep using it though?”

“Because I hunt demons.” Tsuna answered, letting the blade slide back completely into its sheath. “Because I’m also a demon and I can’t wait for daylight to finish the job. Because even if completely deranged, these demons are still people. And this is the cleanest death I can offer.”

“How… how can you bear to kill other demons though? Even though you yourself…”

Tsuna lost his smile, his golden eyes blazing with the fire of justice. “Because regardless of who they are, they are not better than other humans or demons. Because nobody deserves to fear the night, not like this. Nobody deserves to have their families torn.”

Tanjiro looked past him, back to the others, in the distance. He saw how Nezuko had decided to ride atop Mukuro’s shoulders, humming in delight at the new height. Hayato was looking at them, arms on his hips and looking rather concerned. Despite how grumpy he was, he seemed to be perfectly at ease among other demons.

“Is this how you met Hayato? Did you save him?”

“Save?” Tsunayoshi mumbled, looking at them as well. There was something hollow in his eyes. His scent faded. “I’ve tried, Tanjiro. I failed Takeshi. And Hayato… I wasn’t fast enough, and then he was just an orphan, bathed in his family’s blood. I couldn’t leave him, even though his family wouldn’t have died had I been just a little faster. Just a little stronger.”

“I think that’s being too hard on yourself.” Tanjiro whispered, even as his personal demons reared their heads, remembering haunting shadows, the smell of blood, of fire, of death. His siblings, his mother, snow tainted red. “There was nothing you could have done.”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to bring back memories.” Tsunayoshi said, and Tanjiro briefly felt even worse at the apologetic tone, as he realized he was being stared at. This wasn’t about him!

“Besides,” Tanjiro continued, bulldozing over any other complaint. He met surprised, golden eyes. “Even one life is worth everything. Even saving just one life, it means the world.”

Tsunayoshi stared at him, wide-eyed, out of breath.

Tanjiro looked past him again, seeking Nezuko immediately. “I failed my family as well. But Nezuko is alive, and I can’t bring our family back. But I can help her, I can give her everything she needs, everything I can offer, because she deserves it.” Because that’s the only thing I can do for her.

“Tanjiro-kun.” Tsunayoshi began, faltered and then just smiled. “This kindness in your soul. Never lose it. Don’t let the world steal it from you.

“I’ve done everything in my power to atone for my mistake. Hayato says he’s happy but… He’s a human surrounded by demons. There are fundamental differences that isolate him, no matter what we do. He’s not the only human, but he’s the most aware of the divide.”

Tanjiro blinked several times, as he looked back at the group. “Other humans?”

“Yes, they shouldn’t take long to arrive. Lambo needed a human doctor, and Ryohei took him. I told Kyouya to protect them, and wonder of wonders, he listened.”

“Are Ryohei-san and Kyouya-san demons as well?”

“Kyouya is. I stopped him from killing a human, but as it turns out, he was power-hungry, so he was fascinated by me. He keeps challenging me to a fight, keeps attacking Mukuro-kun…” Tsuna sighed. “He’s such a handful.”

(Tanjiro nodded sagely, remembering Inosuke.)

“But Lambo is but a babe, and Ryohei…” Tsuna huffed, something amused and wry on his face. “He’s the densest person I’ve ever met. To this date I still doubt he truly knows we are not human.”

“That… requires quite some effort.” Tanjiro said, trying to be as non-judgmental as possible. “How long has he been with you?”

“Long enough to be worried over his mental faculties.” A new voice said, and Tanjiro found himself staring up at a disgruntled Hayato. He spared him a glance before his face morphed into utter adoration as he turned to address the other demon. “Tsuna-sama, we should start looking for a shelter for you! We wouldn’t want sunrise to catch us by surprise.”

“Yes, you are right, Hayato-kun. Thank you.” Tsuna said, kind and patient. He reached out a hand and Hayato immediately ducked to receive a hair ruffle. “We’ll begin packing. Tell Takeshi to bring Nezuko, please. I’m sure Tanjiro-kun would appreciate having his sister back.”

“Ah, no it’s okay, I can go get her!” Tanjiro immediately jumped to his feet to say, a little concerned with the way Hayato’s face had briefly soured.

He hadn’t quite expected Hayato’s stern face inches away from his own. “No! Tsuna-sama instructed me to do so, you don’t butt in!”

Tanjiro smiled and nodded, trying to placate him, even as Tsuna sighed into his hand. After Hayato had scampered off to his mission, Tanjiro and Tsuna picked up their things, and Tsuna whispered conspiratorially.

“I’m sorry about that, he can get pretty intense with anything I tell him.”

“It’s okay! He actually reminds me of a friend of mine. Funny, since he is a demon!” Tanjiro said with a chuckle, missing the soft look Tsuna directed at him.

Before they were reunited, however, the stench of blood flooded their scene. Tsunayoshi and Tanjiro both unsheathed their blades as the called for their respective charges.

“Mukuro! Kuromu! Protect them!” Tsunayoshi called out, as he dashed blindly into the darkness, fast like a demon.

Tanjiro was barely processing his disappearance, even as he ran to go after Nezuko and the other humans to make sure they were fine.

He was startled, however, when at first he saw two unknown demons circling around them, dangerous and blood-thirsty. But then he recognized one, even if he was smaller than before.

“Mukuro-san?! What-?! Why are you-!?” Tanjiro couldn’t help but ask, staring at a smaller version of the demon he had met. He had just two eyes now, and was just a head taller than himself. His mismatched eyes glittered with amusement.

“Oya? I think you can ask your questions later; wouldn’t you agree?”

“Ah-! Yes! I’m sorry!” Tanjiro screamed as he took position between the group and the forest, and focused on his breathing techniques.

Before he could do more than prepare to strike any offending forces, he heard an ungodly scream, followed by thunderous rock clashes, that resulted in a blow strong enough to send a wave of displaced air all the way out to the clearing in which they were standing in.

After that, the smell of blood and decay intensified briefly, but the demons all relaxed, as if they could see that the threat had been defeated and Tanjiro reluctantly followed suit.

Tsuna came out of the shadows, drenched in blood, but triumphant. He raised his sword as a greeting, ready to reassure them when he was tackled out of the air by another demon.

Tanjiro was already running to his aid, when Mukuro’s clone stopped him, with a hand on his shoulder. “What-!?” He managed to ask, before the Mukuro with two blue eyes smiled at him, kind and shy –smelling just like flowers now–, before pointing to the fallen Tsuna.

Who, as Tanjiro focused, was muttering under his breath, annoyed rather than concerned as he tried shoving someone off him. This someone was another demon with sharp, jagged spikes protruding out of his back, and towering menacingly on top of him. Tsuna winced when sharp fangs dug into his shoulder, and almost getting his face impaled by the demon’s front-facing horns, curved like scimitars. But after that he just gave up and laid flat on the ground, offering no further resistance.

This seemed to bore the spiky demon on top of him, who after huffing in his face, had gotten up, brushing dust off his clothes, as the spikes on his back and elbows reduced in size. He sniffed, as if affronted and began walking away again without a single word.

Tsuna groaned, as he hurried to his feet, blood trickling down his shoulder in a thick, slow fashion. “Kyouya, wait-! It’s going to be morning soon! We have to-!”

His face fell flat when the man he had been talking to disappeared in a blink of an eye. “You know what, fuck you too.”

“Um, Tsuna-san…” Tanjiro began, worried about how Tsuna’s injury was taking so long to heal. But just as he was giving a step or two, Hayato beat him to it. He almost ran to be beside the injured demon, producing a piece of cloth to dab at the injury.

It was ripped out of his hands, by a stern but not unkind Tsuna, even as he pushed him away, expression tense.

Tanjiro suddenly felt terrible for Tsuna, for having to deal with suppressing his attacking instinct when he was injured. He tried calling Hayato back to no avail and to his horror, he could hear him offer,

"if you require blood to heal, I am always at your service, Tsuna-sama." Gokudera said, looking bright and proud of such a gruesome offer. Tsuna was already looking aggravated when Takeshi poked his head from behind Hayato with a grin.

"Oh, in that case, Tsuna do you want some of my blood as well? I bet some variety would be great!"

"You idiot of course that he can't take your blood, it's-"

"Of course I can't take your blood. I am not desperate enough to resort to feeding off my family." Tsuna cut them off, a look so tender in his eyes that made both of them blush. He rested a hand atop their heads. "But I appreciate the gesture."

(Tanjiro didn't miss the warning glare he briefly directed at the human Hayato, and he wondered if Takeshi really did not know he was a demon. And he wondered why.)

* * *

After that bizarre commotion, two more figures appeared from the forest– an enthusiastic man carrying a sleeping child in his arms. Upon spotting them, the man yelled out, “EXTREME!” And hurried to catch up to them.

Tanjiro smelled sun, and electricity off them and relaxed, as he confirmed that they were not a threat.

“Ryohei.” Tsuna smiled, walking up to them and gesturing for the child. Ryohei softly jostled the kid, who grumbled and giggled in delight at seeing Tsuna. “Lambo. Welcome back.”

“We are EXTREMELY sorry for being late! I got a little lost, going into the forest. And the strangers I found were all so rude, attacking me without letting me ask for directions.”

Tsuna opened his mouth, closed it and then gave up. “What have I told you about approaching suspicious strangers that look like Kyouya or Mukuro and Kuromu?”

“Oh, but they didn’t have horns.” Ryohei grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up. Tsuna looked positively aggravated.

“Didn’t Kyouya stop you?”

“Oh he was keeping his distance since he was hungry, he said. And he was bored. Actually did you see him? He went on ahead because he sensed a strong opponent nearby.

“Ah.” Tsuna said, voice flat as he realized. “I beat him to it. That’s probably why he was so pissed.”

Ryohi blinked as he finally realized Tsuna’s injury. “Did Kyouya bite you again?”

Tsuna actually blushed. “Don’t make it sound like it’s a common offense!”

They were approached by Takeshi, with his arms behind his head. “But you’re the only one he bites! Anyway, Tsuna you gotta eat or something, we can’t have you bleeding out!”

Tsuna startled into attention, as if not registering the pain. “Ah, yes.”

Ryohei clicked his tongue as he handed Lambo over to Takeshi before taking the blade from Tsuna’s slack fingers. “You know the blade makes you heal even slower. Should we ask Kyouya-san to hunt something for you?”

“He’s mad I beat him to his opponent. He’s not going to do anything for me, anytime soon.”

“Tsuna-sama! I can go hunt for you!” “Hey Tsuna, what if I go get you food?” Both Takeshi and Hayato said at the same time, poking their noses back into the conversation. Tsuna sighed into his face.

“I’m not letting either of you go into a demon-infested forest alone.” He replied, sounding like a scolding mother. “And besides it’s going to be morning soon, I don’t want any of you wandering around on your own.”

“But I can procure food for you, while you rest. The sun doesn’t affect me so-!” Hayato began, looking so hopeful it hurt.

Takeshi glanced once at the sky, hesitating briefly before pitching in. “Yeah, Tsuna! The demons should go take cover and we’ll bring meat over!”

“Meat!?” Tanjiro couldn’t help but exclaim, flinching when inhuman eyes zeroed in on him.

“We do not consume human flesh, Tanjiro-kun.” Tsuna said, sounding amused rather than offended. “But most of us survive on animal meat. Kyouya and Mukuro sometimes feed off other demons, despite my complaints. But I guess I cannot apply my own philosophies to them. Not when it’s a life and death situation.”

“Nezuko also doesn’t eat humans.” Tanjiro found himself saying, drawing their interest. “She doesn’t eat at all, truth be told. She just sleeps for long periods of time to regain strength.”

“Seems terribly inefficient.” Hayato muttered, looking skeptical. Takeshi hit him with an elbow to the ribs. “I mean, if it works for her, that’s good, but would she like to try eating animal meat? It still isn’t the best, but may be able to provide an alternative.”

Tanjiro blinked in surprise. “Oh, maybe she would like it! I’ll ask her! Thank you so much Hayato-san!”

The man grumbled under his breath but did not protest further. He still seemed rather rooted to his spot.

“Um, Tsuna-san.” The young demon slayer began, trying to help his new friend out. “What if I go with Hayato-san to hunt something and we’ll catch up to you? You can tell me your general location and if not I can find you by smell.”

“It still seems risky to me…” Tsuna rubbed the side of his face, looking more and more tired by the second. “If anything happens I won’t be able to do anything.”

“Not to worry, Tsuna-sama we won’t take long I promise!” Hayato replied, somehow missing the entire point in his enthusiasm.

“Hey, if you don’t take long, how about I come with?” Takeshi said next, much to Tsuna’s consternation.

“Takeshi, I don’t think… morning is going to come and…” He looked away, unable to look into his innocent eyes. “You know what, forget it. We’re all leaving, I’ll feed in the night.”

“But Tsuna, you know I’m fast. I swear I won’t take long.”

“Takeshi-san, Hayato-san.” Tanjiro said, looking to the lightening sky. His voice is stern, yet still somehow, kind. “We have half an hour before sunrise. If we stay here, all of your friends will be injured, or maybe even dead. What you want to do is noble, but you should understand Tsunayoshi-san’s worries. He’s done so much to ensure you are safe, and I know you want to repay him but you are just being a burden. He’s not going to die if he doesn’t eat, and you can protect him from other humans if push comes to shove. If he’s really weak, then I can hunt for him. I’m a demon slayer and can actually defend myself.”

Tsuna sighed, pushing Ryohei off him to give Tanjiro another head pat, as if it was a habit of his. “I am not leaving you here alone either. Beside, you have to worry about your own sister.”

Tanjiro only grinned at him, before putting his rather bulky backpack on the floor and calling for Nezuko. His sister glided up to him, looking at him with a quiet happiness before shrinking her size to an adorable height before climbing into the box and Tanjiro closed the lid after wishing her good night.

“There,” Tanjiro said with a cheeky grin. “She’s safe now.”

“Interesting artifact.” Tsuna commented, something thoughtful in his voice. “Sadly I think the only one of us that can shrink is Kyouya, and I rather think he would refuse to even hear about the idea.”

He turned to his sullen-looking friends and let his voice soften. “You two can be in charge of hunting, tomorrow night. Can I count on you two?”

Takeshi brightened immediately. “Of course, Tsuna! Anything for you!”

Hayato was a bit slower. “Yeah, I’ll handle it.”

He looked even more downtrodden when Tsuna stumbled, and Takeshi was the one fast enough to manhandle him to lean heavily into him, Lambo already in Kuromu’s arms.

Like that they finally left.

* * *

Once the big group was safely hidden inside what looked like an abandoned cottage in the woods, crammed inside like sardines– Ryohei went full doctor mode and made sure Tsuna took the only bed, and was as comfortable as possible. He bandaged the wound, despite his protests and then attended to the rest, happy when the injuries were nonexistent.

After that, everyone found a corner for themselves and promptly conked out, as if they didn’t have a worry in their lives. Tanjiro was careful to put himself between the world and Nezuko, before he too closed his eyes and allowed exhaustion to claim him.

* * *

When Tanjiro woke up again, he was startled to find himself in a bed. He sat up immediately, feeling something uncurl inside his stomach at finding Nezuko curled up by his side, still soundly asleep.

“Ah, you’re awake. Sorry for moving you, but I thought that you deserved to get some actual rest, after getting kind of stuck with us. Sorry about that.” Tsunayoshi was the first person to enter his sight, looking pale and sickly with his bandaged shoulder, and bags under his eyes.

Tsuna briefly looked over at Tanjiro’s sister, with a resigned sigh. “Maybe I should learn how to recover from just sleeping like your sister. In cases like this it would have been useful.”

Tanjiro yawned, as he prepared to get up. “Can I ask why did Kyouya-san bite you if you struggle so much to heal normally? I thought he was on your side.”

Tsuna hummed. “It’s not like he’s on my side– or anyone’s really. He’s on his own side. He’s just very… competitive? No that makes him sound sane. His blood-lust knows no end. I defeated him once and I think he does like the company, so he sticks around. Just outside our reach, but he pops by every so often. He bites me when he gets irritated at anyone in the group. Which I guess I’m thankful for, since I doubt he’d make the distinction between human and demon in his haze.”

“He sounds… a little dangerous.” Tanjiro offered, a diplomat as always.

“He probably is.” Tsuna sighed again, a hand to his shoulder. “And I haven’t eaten in a while, and I was caught by surprise and voila. He probably didn’t even notice how weak I actually was before snapping.”

Tanjiro’s smile was a little strained. “Ah, that sounds like a troublesome friend.”

“Friend?” Tsuna stopped to think about it, a gentle smile spreading over his face. “Ah yes, I guess we are. But don’t let Kyouya hear you say that, he’d kill both of us.”

“Why would he kill you?!”

Tsuna shrugged. “Pride? Honor? Embarrassment? Who the fuck knows? Not me.”

When night came again, Hayato and Takeshi were the first out of the door, Tanjiro hurrying after them, to show some solidarity to Tsunayoshi and to make sure they didn’t get themselves killed.

Takeshi hung back to walk with him as soon as he noticed him, while Hayato was quick to disappear out of sight.

Tanjiro was slightly worried, because the one that had disappeared had of course been the unarmed human. But as soon as he disappeared out of ear shot, Takeshi had given him a thumbs up, “Don’t worry Tanjiro, I’ll hear if someone gets near him and go in a second.”

“O-oh, you must have really good hearing then!” Tanjiro said, a little shrill even to his own ears.

Takeshi’s smile dimmed. “yeah I guess.” He looked at the forest beyond, before turning back to him, contemplating something that Tanjiro prayed wasn’t a bad idea. “Are you good at keeping secrets?”

“Wha-I mean, of course, yeah. Wha-?”

“I’ll go eat something, then I’ll bring some more for Tsuna. Wait for me here.”

“Wha-?”

And he was gone.

* * *

When Takeshi came back, there was blood splattered on his shirt and his mouth and he had a dead boar under each arm.

(Tanjiro had to look away, eerily reminded of Inosuke.)

“Have the food! Now we just have to get Hayato and go back!” He paused to grin at the flabbergasted Tanjiro. “So? Mind if I tell the others you helped me catch it?”

Tanjiro’s humor plummeted to the ground. “You know.”

“Hmm? Know what? How to hunt? Of course I do!”

“You know you’re a demon.“

Takeshi lost his grin. Frowning, sullenly at the floor. “It’s not like I’m stupid. I knew something was off, and I’ve known I was turned into a demon for so long. Really, there’s no way I wouldn’t figure it out at some point.”

Tanjiro was so surprised he scrambled for something to say, wanting to make sense of the mystery at his feet. “Then why… why does Tsuna-san act like you don’t?”

Takeshi sighed deeply, focused on walking onwards, and decidedly not facing him. “Because he doesn’t know I know.”

“…why?”

“Because it hurts him. Because every time he sees me, he thinks of the fact that my family is dead and that I was turned.” Takeshi spat out the words, bitter and sad, unlike the persona that he displayed. “And yeah, maybe at the beginning I was in denial but… well.”

He didn’t continue, and Tanjiro felt his heart bleed for him, for them.

“It must be hard.” He mumbled, drawing his attention. “It must be hard keeping this up every day. I can see you really do care about Tsuna-san and the others.”

“Yeah.” Takeshi mumbled, a tiny smile on his bloodied lips. “And I just wish I could do more. They’ve done so much for me. And, I consider them my family now. They can’t replace what I lost, but my heart goes wyuum when I see them. And I go all fuwa fuwa!”

Tanjiro then quickened his step, coming up to him slowly and making him stop. He gave him a head pat. “There, there. You’ve done so much for them. You should be proud of yourself.”

After that, he pulled the sleeve of his uniform to cover his hand, poured some of his water into it and dabbed around his mouth to clean any residue of blood.

With every touch, with every word, Takeshi seemed to get younger and younger by the minute, his eyes watering, his brow furrowing. Tanjiro was suddenly hit by the realization that he probably was younger than Tsuna by quite a few years.

“Am I making a mistake, Tanjiro? Should I have not kept this quiet from Tsuna-san and Hayato?”

Tanjiro scrubbed at his stained uniform in silence, as he ordered his thoughts.

“I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t have done. I don’t have the answers, and you are probably a better judge for this.” Tanjiro began slowly. “But you did do it out of the goodness of your heart. You decided to do the hard thing, so Tsuna-san wouldn’t get hurt, and I think that’s very brave of you.”

He paused. “But I do think this secret is tearing you apart. You all tiptoe around the issue, and just make things harder for all of you. And I don’t think that’s fair to you, or to the rest.” Tanjiro took a deep breath. “Besides I don’t think Tsuna-san would mind terribly, if you can show him your current life is enjoyable, demon or no demon. Show him that he did save you, even if he couldn’t stop you from becoming a demon. It’s probably going to take a while, and it’s going to be hard but… I do believe you can all do better.”

Takeshi stared at him for a long time. Quiet, thoughtful, unlike the image he normally presented.

Tanjiro let him, as they finally retrieved a grumpy Hayato, with a handful of rabbits in a bag. Tanjiro was impressed with the amount and asked him a lot of questions as to how he got so many in so little time, and this melted Hayato’s haughty mask for a moment. He regaled the demon slayer with his inventions, with his intellect, as he told him of the traps he had set up. He also glared up at Takeshi as he assured them that he would have gotten enough meat to feed all of them had they given him a little more time.

Tanjiro tried placating him, and thus became the target of Hayato’s inquisitive green eyes. He tried answering all the rapid fire questions he had to ask, even if some went cleanly over his head.

By the time they were back, Hayato was in such a good mood that Nezuko had come out of her hibernation sleep to stare at him, and Tanjiro kept side-eyeing him just to make sure he was still the human Hayato he knew.

Kuromu and Mukuro were standing guard outside the cottage, with the smaller demon –Kuromu– still cradling a giggling Lambo in her arms. All three of them turned to look at them, with Mukuro being the one to lunge for Takeshi’s prey.

Takeshi laughed, as he dodged the assault –looking so carefree and human that even Tanjiro was hard-pressed not to intervene.

“Mukuro! You have to wait your turn, Tsuna is the one who gets to eat first!”

“Whaat!?” Lambo screamed from his spot. “Why does Tsuna-nii get to eat first? I’m also hungry and I’m a human!”

Mukuro snapped sharp jaws his way, irritated but not angry but was stopped from saying anything as Kuromu laughed, a sound like chiming bells coming out of her similarly pointy jaw. She shifted Lambo around to free a hand so she could wave it in the air, creating images of meals out of thin air.

“Why don’t we think first what do you want to eat, once we get you back into the town?” She said, successfully distracting the child. “Also, because you’re a human it is your job to learn how to cook, so I can try these weird human dishes you talk about so much, as well.”

“Ohh, Kuromu! Takoyaki! We have to get takoyaki!” Lambo exclaimed, immediately distracted.

“I hope there were no troubles?” Mukuro stepped up to them to say, scanning all three of them, his vertical-slit eyes pausing briefly over Takeshi, before he stepped away. “Better hurry, Tsunayoshi ought to be hungry.”

Takeshi quickened his pace, calling out his name as he disappeared inside the cottage.

Meanwhile Mukuro sighed dramatically as he rounded circled, sharp claws on his shoulders, as he leaned over to inspect the bloody bag at his back. He made a sound of disgust. “What and you expect me to eat that?”

“I never said that, idiot.” Hayato grumbled, trying to shove him off with an elbow to his gut. “These are for me and Lambo, and Ryohei if he remembers to eat. You can go find food for yourself.”

“I’m hurt, Hayato-kun.” Mukuro crooned, lifting a claw to brush against his cheek. “Didn’t you offer your blood to Tsunayoshi? Why do you refuse to share it with us, if you have so much?”

“Get your claws off me!” Hayato said, struggling to get him off. Tanjiro already had his sword drawn, when Mukuro just disappeared from sight, his laughter echoing all around them.

“Very well, I’m going to go ahead and find some real food for myself. “

Tanjiro stepped in a small circle, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise, of the smell. “Where… where is he going?”

“He’s a demon. Like I understand that animal meat, especially in these quantities is just not enough for any of them, but only Mukuro and Kyouya go out of their way to eat others anymore.” Hayato said nonchalantly, as he lowered the bag to the floor to inspect its contents.

“Like- like humans?”

Hayato spared him a glance. “They respect Tsuna-sama, as much as he respects them. They’ve agreed to only go after murderers and worse– demon or otherwise. In return, they listen to him, they play nice with all of us, and try to feed as little as possible.”

Tanjiro looked at the darkened shadows at his back, feeling rather conflicted anyway.

Kuromu walked up to them, with Lambo now perched atop her shoulders. “Are you two ready to go in?”

“What about you, Kuromu?” Tanjiro asked, trying not to think too deeply on it. “Are you going to go eat as well?”

“Oh I don’t need to,” Kuromu said softly, the dangerous grin on her face at odds with her soft voice. “I subsist on Mukuro’s excess energy. He enjoys the thrill of a fight, so it’s better if he is the one to go out, but if I want to go hunt myself, he’s content with leeching off me.”

“They are a pair of twins with a quasi-symbiotic relationship.” Hayato told the surprised Tanjiro as he began skinning the rabbits right there. “They can share a lot of things, including energy and sustenance. You’ve seen their weird, four-eyed form already.”

Tanjiro was oohing in admiration, which made Kuromu blush softly. She was distracted as Lambo began trying to go over to Tanjiro without touching the ground, and when the teen only laughed and stretched out his hands, Kuromu gingerly picked him from her shoulders and gave him away.

After that she was free to have a staring match with Nezuko, before following it up with an entirely non-verbal conversation with hums and bell chimes. Meanwhile Tanjiro listened with amused tolerance as Lambo rambled on and on about how awesome he was, and how he was the strongest of his family and how he protected them all from evil people.

Tanjiro was patient and kind, and was quite taken with little Lambo. But at one point he had to give him back to Kuromu as he scampered off, making sure Nezuko wouldn’t go after him.

After that he lowered himself to the ground, back against a tree. He looked down at his trembling hands, still feeling the warmth of little Lambo.

He still remembered when Rokuta had been small enough to be held like that. When Shigeru, Hanako had been smaller, louder and loved to be held by their older brother. He remembered how Takeo had been an adorable little baby, before he entered the earlier years of teenage hood but still so young and cute.

And Nezuko…

Nezuko who had been close enough to him in age, so he didn’t remember holding her, unlike the others. Nezuko who had also helped take care of their siblings, carrying them on her back, playing with them.

He missed them.

He missed all of them.

He missed them all _so much it hurt._

Tanjiro sobbed into his hands, knowing this was all so ridiculous, that there was no real reason he should be getting this sad just because he had held a stranger’s kid for less than five minutes.

And it’s not like they were all gone, it’s not like Nezuko wasn’t still her caring self.

He missed his family.

He missed his mother. His father. His siblings.

Why had they been stolen away from him?

And so he cried, he cried a child’s tears for a man’s pain.

He cried and cried, letting go of his iron-clad control for a second. Mourning for the family he would never get to see again. Crying for his late arrival, crying for his inability to save them. Crying for the inevitable fear, that he wouldn’t be able to turn Nezuko back into a human.

Alone in the dark forest, he wept.

* * *

“Tanjiro-kun?”

The teen slowly roused himself from sleep, rubbing his swollen eyes as he tried remembering where he was.

“Ah,” he croaked, upon recognizing the demon looking down at him with concern. How long had he been out? “Tsuna-san, what are you doing here? Are you okay? I thought you were injured?”

Tsuna smiled, eyes warm. “I healed already. I do have regeneration when I’m not starving. What about you, Kuromu told me you weren’t looking well, and Hayato told me to I should go find you.”

“Hayato-san did? Ah, Tsuna-san I’m so sorry for bothering you, you shouldn’t have- “

Tsuna crouched down, placing a soft hand on his head, ruffling his hair with the same tenderness of family. “You are not a bother, Tanjiro-kun. I would say it’s us who have been imposing on you and Nezuko-chan. And I’m sorry for the meddling but you smell like tears. What happened?”

Tanjiro flinched briefly, a taut smile on his lips. “Ah-! I just… it’s nothing, really. I was just reminded of…”

He trailed off, not finding a way to express what was going on in his mind.

“Tsuna-san, do you ever miss your family?”

Tsuna sighed. “I’m guessing you mean my human family.”

Before Tanjiro can think of apologizing, he continued. “Every damn day. I guess, everyone does too. I guess you do too. I’m sorry, did mine do something to offend you?”

“No, no! It’s just… Lambo reminded me of my younger siblings.”

“An older brother, huh? Yes, you have the air.” Tsuna said, thoughtfully, making Tanjiro smile briefly. “My condolences for your loss.”

The younger teen nodded his head. “Thanks.”

Tsuna let his weight pull him back, as he sat cross-legged. He leaned back on his arms as he stared at the canopy above. There were stars in the small glimpses of sky. “I don’t expect you to find a replacement, but. There are still people in this world that can be a new family. There are friends and comrades, to make life more amenable. It will never erase the pain in your heart, but all is not lost, Tanjiro-kun. New bonds can be forged; new families can be formed.”

Tanjiro was silent long enough for the demon to look back at him. Tsuna rose to his feet in a second, as if deciding something.

Tanjiro accepted the offered hand and stood up on wobbly legs, he looked up at the demon again, silent.

“Grieve for those you lost. But do not despair, for all is not lost.” Tsuna said, giving him another head pat, before slinging a warm arm around Tanjiro’s cold shoulders and began guiding him back. “Remember the past, look to the future but don’t forget to live in the present. You know better than others how uncertain life is, so make sure not to waste a single day.”

“I-I do try! I have to be Nezuko’s older brother! And I have friends, like Inosuke and Zenitsu!” Tanjiro said, feeling comfortable enough to _not _be the older party for once, and allowed himself to ramble off to the gentle demon about his friends, about his training, about Nezuko’s abilities.

Tsuna listened and smiled and made a remark or two as he guided them out of the forest.

By the time they reached the clearing of the cottage, when a worried Nezuko launched herself at him, Tanjiro could laugh again, feeling the ache in his heart as present as ever, but somehow not hurting him any longer.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah that's it, as I told you no real point to it. Just character building I guess? XD idk
> 
> No plans on expanding on this universe, but y'all more than welcome to write an "Inspired by" work or something, the khr characters in the kimetsu no yaiba world is a recipe for chaos. I was also tempted to tag "Yet another AU in which Tsuna suffers and is absolutely done."  
Let me know what you thought in the comments below!


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